


Back on Your Feet

by SlayerFest98



Series: The Doctor and the Captain [2]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Alcohol, Depressed Doctor, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post Voyage of the Damned, Supportive Jack Harkness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2014-02-08
Packaged: 2018-01-04 22:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlayerFest98/pseuds/SlayerFest98
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor shows up in Captain Jack Harkness' office after the events of the Voyage of the Damned depressed and looking for comfort. After a few drinks, Jack tries to help the Doctor get back on his feet...</p><p>Second part of 'The Doctor and The Captain' seres</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Short chapter to get started on this story :)  
> This installment in the series won't be very long, I wasn't even going to post this but I like the idea so here it is anyway!  
> Enjoy!

“Jack, are you sure you don’t need anything else?” Ianto asked, poking his head through Jack’s office door.

Jack looked up with an endearing smile, “Yes, dear! I’m fine! A cup of your glorious coffee and I’m set for an evening alone with my paperwork.”

Ianto nodded, “Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight!”

“Goodnight honey, “Jack blew Ianto a kiss before he left, watching closely as the other man left for the night. Jack cocked his head to the side to appreciate the little sway of Ianto’s hips as he walked away, admiring his arse in those slightly too tight trousers.

Jack smiled to himself as the cog door rolled closed, leaving him alone with his paperwork. Jack sighed; this was going to be a long night…

 

Two hours later and Jack was still nowhere near finished the mountain of work Tosh was hassling him about. Did he really have to file a report every time he discharged his weapon? It seemed a little excessive to Jack considering the amount of times he fired his weapon over the course of a week defending Cardiff.

He sat back in his chair, looking to his empty coffee mug. Maybe it was time for something stronger. Jack got to his feet and turned to his cabinet of liquor. As he was digging around for a particular bottle of whisky, he heard something coming from behind him. He recognised the sound immediately, which brought a smile to Jack’s lips, but he didn’t turn around, merely continued looking through his liquor cabinet.

The familiar squeak of the TARDIS door brought joy to Jack’s night, “Hey Doc! Just in time, I’m getting the good stuff out!”

Jack turned to face the Doctor with a bottle of whisky and two glasses in his hands to see the Doctor covered in snow, “So, snow where you were, eh? Where’ve you come from Doc?”

The Doctor sighed heavily, “Christmas 2007.”

“Oh yeah, Titanic in the sky, right?” Jack asked as he poured drinks for them both. “That wasn’t too long ago for me. Guessing you were right on top of it, weren’t you?”

The Doctor nodded solemnly, slumping into a chair and picking up the glass, sniffing and eyeing the amber liquid suspiciously before almost downing the whole glace with a grimace. Jack’s brows furrowed in worry, the Doctor drinking so heavily was not a good sign.

Jack sat down and cleared his throat, taking a sip of his own drink, “So… what’s happened? Do you wanna talk about?”

The Doctor dropped his head into a hand with a sigh, “Not really. I just… didn’t save enough people tonight. Too many people died and I… I don’t know. Astrid didn’t deserve that.”

The Doctor sniffed and poured himself another glass, downing half of it in one go, “She was so alive. You know, all she wanted was to see the stars. Get out there and travel the universe. But she sacrificed herself for me. I was going to take her with me… Astrid Peth and the Doctor in the TARDIS… I guess she was saved from a world of pain with me…”

“Don’t even think that, Doctor,” Jack said, leaning over the desk to look directly into the Doctor’s desperately sad brown eyes. “Her world was turned upside down by you, even in such a short period of time. Believe me, I know.”

The Doctor downed the rest of his drink and sunk into his chair further, shaking his head, “Oh I dunno, Jack. I don’t even know why I’m here. I just… don’t feel like travelling right now.”

Jack nodded, getting to his feet as the Doctor reached for the whisky again, pushing the bottle out of the Time Lord’s reach. The Doctor sighed, “Jack, really? Can’t I drown my sorrows just once?”

“That’s not the solution and you know it,” Jack said, looking into the Doctor’s tired eyes, placing a hand on one of the Doctor’s, “You’re staying here tonight and I’m gonna get you back on your feet.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Jack, I don’t need mollycoddling,” the Doctor protested, words slightly slurred already. Guess Time Lords are more affected by alcohol, Jack mused as the Doctor heaved himself to his feet with minimal swaying.

He reached behind Jack, taking the whole bottle off the desk before bringing it to his lips and taking a swig. The Doctor coughed slightly, shaking his head as if it was becoming fuzzy, “I’m over 900 years old, I can take care of myself…”

The Doctor gulped down some more whisky, but before the increasingly drunk Time Lord could drink more of the amber liquid, Jack took the bottle from the Doctor and put it back in the cupboard, “I think you’ve had more than enough!”

“Ugh, you’re not my mother…” the Doctor grumbled as he staggered towards the TARDIS.

Jack grabbed the Doctor’s skinny shoulder and pulled him away from his ship, “Oh no, there will be no drunk driving under my watch.”

With a surprising amount of force the Doctor fought against him, but due to the alien’s inebriated state, Jack got the upper hand, pinning the skinny man against the TARDIS.

“Oh Jack,” the Doctor slurred, an octave lower than normal, “definitely not my mother! I bet you’ve always wanted this hmm? Pin me against my own ship and take me right here…”

“Jeez, you’re a mean drunk aren’t you?” Jack said, trying not to let the obvious dig at his feelings towards the Time Lord get to him.

“Oh come on, Jack, “the Doctor purred. “Take advantage of me! I know you want me; I can see it in your eyes…” The Doctor thrust his hips up against Jack’s teasingly.

Jack bit back a moan as the Time Lord’s groin rubbed against his own. The Doctor’s dirty talk had already done something for Jack and now the Doctor’s incessant grinding against him made Jack’s cock twitch with interest.

The Doctor giggled drunkenly, “Yeah, you like that don’t you Jackie boy. I feel that… you like me teasing you, don’t you…”

Jack pushed away from the Doctor, “I’m not going to take advantage of you like this Doc. I’m your friend. I’m gonna get you sobered up.”

“Aww, buzz kill,” the Doctor moaned. Jack grabbed the Doctor’s arm and pulled him through the blue doors of the TARDIS, the alien stumbling and rambling on behind him.

Jack asked Sexy the way to the swimming pool and she helpfully guided the two to the pool. As soon as they were through the arch, Jack grabbed the scrawny Time Lord and threw him into the pool.

The Doctor soon surfaced, spluttering and pushing wet hair out of his eyes. He swam to the edge and pulled himself out of the water, “Ugh, what was that for?”

“You’re drunk, that’s what,” Jack explained, hoisting the Doctor into his arms, asking the TARDIS for directions towards a bedroom of some description.

“No! I’mnotdrunk,” the Doctor slurred.

“Yes, yes you are,” Jack said, entering a bedroom and placing the Doctor (none too gently) onto a bed, “Sleep it off buddy. I’ll be back for you later on.”

The Doctor mumbled something incoherently into his pillow before snoring softly. Jack sighed and left the Doctor to sober up, walking further into the TARDIS to wait.


	3. Chapter 3

“Ugh,” the Doctor grumbled, staggering out of the TARDIS doors into Jack’s office where he was doing more paperwork over a cup of coffee.

“Feeling better?” Jack asked as the Doctor slumped into the chair, clutching at his head.

“No. My head is killing me,” the Doctor grumbled.

“Well, that’s what happens when you have a hangover,” Jack scolded, finally looking up at the Time Lord and cringing at the sight before him; the Doctor looked awful.

They sat in silence after Jack pushed his coffee over to the alien and he began to sip on it. At length, the Doctor finally spoke up, “Jack, I’m sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it Doc,” Jack interrupted. “You were upset and drunk and you lashed out. It’s okay, I get it.”

“Thank you for understanding,” the Doctor said quietly. “But I’m still sorry.”

“I know you are,” Jack replied. “But I forgive you.”

The Doctor sighed, “Why do you always do that? After everything that’s happened, everything I’ve done, you always forgive me. Why?”

Jack smiled, “You know why Doctor…”

“But I don’t deserve it!” the Doctor exclaimed desperately.

The former Time Agent shook his head and got to his feet, moving to the Doctor’s side of the desk and leaning against the edge, “That’s exactly why you deserve it.”

The Doctor gave Jack a confused look, so he continued, “The fact that you don’t think you need to be thanked or acknowledged for all the lives you save, that you only see the bad moments that have happened, not the good one that you’ve made… that’s why you deserve to be loved, Doctor.

“The fact that you never stay long enough for praise or credit but never hesitate to risk your life for the safety of others, that bravery is what makes you special. That’s why everyone you touch ends up a better person and that so many people in this universe love you.”

The Doctor looked at Jack with an uncertain look, “I don’t know that you’re right, but thank you Jack.”

He got to his feet and turned towards the TARDIS. Jack grasped the Doctor’s hand, stopping him, “Wait, you’re leaving so soon?”

The Doctor turned back with a tired sigh, “I think that would be best. After my behaviour, I think…”

Jack placed his free hand against the Doctor’s cheek, gazing desperately into the alien’s deep brown eyes, “Please don’t go. Stay. Just for a little while.”

The Doctor smiled sadly, squeezing the hand Jack still held, “I shouldn’t. I need to move on, get past this whole business.”

“Can’t you do that here?” Jack asked desperately, wrapping his hand around the back of the Doctor’s head and pulling him closer. He had been hoping that the Doctor’s earlier behaviour had been more than just alcohol induced fuzziness. But he hadn’t been holding onto much.

The Doctor chuckled wryly, placing his free hand on Jack’s chest to prevent him from pulling him any closer, “I’m not sure I’m brave enough.”

Jack frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Everything you said about me, you said I was brave,” the Doctor replied, voice breaking slightly, “but I’m not. I’m a coward. The reason I don’t stay is not because of selflessness, but selfishness. I can’t bear to stand still for too long because of all the guilt I feel towards the people I couldn’t save. I don’t stay because I can’t stand the damage I inflict.

I don’t want to stay here with you because I’m scared of the damage I’ll cause if I let myself go. If I give myself over to you…”

“I’m not asking you to stay forever!” Jack exclaimed, pulling the Doctor closer still forcefully. “I just want you to stay for a little while. An hour! Just give me an hour!”

“Jack,” the Doctor whispered fearfully so close he could feel his breath on the other man’s lips. Jack let go of the Doctor’s hand and caressed the side of the Time Lord’s face.

“Please, let me be here for you,” Jack whispered. “Let me comfort you.”

The Doctor sighed, leaning his forehead against Jack’s, “Okay…”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! First chapter of the new year and personally I think it's kinda sweet! :P  
> Enjoy!

Jack closed his eyes and sighed, “Thank you.”

He continued clinging to the Doctor as though he would turn and bolt if he let go. The Doctor shifted uncomfortably, “Jack? Can you let go?”

Jack stepped back slightly, although he was still standing quite close to the Doctor, “Sorry, I just don’t want you to run off.”

“Yeah, I do that don’t I?” the Doctor said with a wry smile. There was a pause in which the Doctor looked worried. He then spoke up quietly, taking a step back from the other man, “Jack, um, everything that happened before… I hope you don’t think that I’m, well… you’re very handsome and everything but it’s just… I’m not… well, you know…”

The immortal man sighed and nodded with a sad smile on his face, “Of course, sure. Yeah… ha! What was I thinking? You’re the Doctor, you wouldn’t be interested in anything like that.”

The Doctor looked pained, loath to cause his oldest friend distress, “Look, maybe not now but, someday? Perhaps in the future I’ll come back to you…”

Jack nodded with a tight smile, walking back behind his desk, “Yeah, well I’m not getting any older am I! I look forward to that day Doctor. You know where I’ll be. I’ll be waiting.”

The Doctor nodded sadly, following Jack behind his desk, “I’m sorry, Jack. I really am.”

A pause.

“How about we go out for a drink? Not as a date or anything,” the Doctor corrected quickly,” just a beverage between friends.”

Jack smiled and nodded, getting to his feet and shrugging on his coat, “Alright, I’m in! Where do you wanna go? There’s a nice place down the block form here…”

The Doctor grasped the other man’s hand and led him towards the TARDIS with a gleam in his eye, “I was thinking somewhere a bit more relaxed!”

He threw open the door of the Police Box, darting around the console, Jack following behind with a fond smile on his face. The Doctor stopped abruptly, looking a Jack cheekily, “Hold on!”

He tugged on the lever which was the throttle and his beloved ship lurched into flight. The old girl lurched and wheezed before coming to a halt somewhere, Jack had no idea where the Doctor had taken him this time.

The Time Lord dashed to the door, holding it open for Jack, “After you!”

Jack threw his signature smile at the alien as he passed and found himself in an alien bar. Loud music was blaring and many different species were dancing and gyrating on the open floor. The Doctor joined Jack in surveying the bar.

“4369, Boeshane Peninsula,” he explained.

Jack looked over the horned bartender’s slimy shoulder and sure enough spotted a glimpse of desert through an open door, “I shouldn’t be here Doc, personal timelines and all.”

“Oh don’t worry, you won’t be born for another few hundred years or so! Nothing to worry about!” the Doctor exclaimed, leading him towards the bar.

“I’m not worried about meeting me, more like hot 44th Century ancestors of mine!” Jack exclaimed cheekily, earning him an eye roll from his companion. “I wouldn’t have though this to be your kind of place, Doc.”

The Doctor shrugged non-committedly, “Well, I figured this would be the kind of place you would like.”

Jack smiled and ordered some kind of alien whisky recommended by the barkeep for himself and a banana smoothie for the Doctor. He smiled gratefully, even slightly apologetically, at Jack, taking a sip of his non-alcoholic beverage.

And so they sat for a long time, drinking and talking and laughing; just two old, old friends catching up. That was until a song that was to Jack’s particular tastes came over the speakers. He got to his feet and grabbed the Doctor’s hand.

“Come on! Dance with me!” Jack encouraged, tugging on the other man’s hand as if he were a persistent child.

The Doctor hesitated, looking warily at the dance floor before yielding uncertainly to Jack’s pulling. He led the Time Lord to the centre of the floor and began gyrating along with all the other beings on the dance floor. The Doctor looked wary but Jack grabbed his hand again encouraged him to dance along to the heavy beat.

The Doctor chuckled and shook his head, letting Jack lead him into dancing, though much less provocatively, along to the music. Sure enough the song ended and a quiet, slower song began, leaving the two men holding hands awkwardly as couples began to pair off.

Jack let go of the Doctor’s hand, a faint blush colouring his cheeks. He cleared his throat and asked carefully, “So, um, would you like to dance with me?”

The Doctor looked uncertainly around before nodding tensely. Jack let go of a breath he didn’t even know he was holding as the Time Lord moved closer and settled against him…


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter...  
> Next installment of the series to come...

Jack took the lead, moving slowly with the Doctor from one foot to the other. At first the Doctor looked anywhere but at Jack but eventually, he looked at the other man with a shy smile. Jack smiled too; not his signature dazzling smile, but a more uncertain sweet one.

As they settled into a steady motion, moving across the dance floor, Jack inhaled the scent of the Doctor, committing it to memory so when the Doctor inevitably leaves him, he will remember until the next time. He memorised the feel of the skinny man against him, moving in sync with him because it would probably never happen again. 

Jack pulled the Doctor closer who momentarily stiffened but then relaxed against the other man, resting his head against Jack’s shoulder. Jack smiled and squeezed the Time Lord gently. When the song came to an end, Jack took the Doctor’s hand and kissed it gallantly.

As they made their way back to the bar, Jack regarded the Doctor, “Thank you for a lovely evening.”

The Doctor smiled wistfully and headed back to the TARDIS, leaving Jack at the bar with a sad smile on his face. With a sigh, Jack followed the Doctor back into the TARDIS, knowing that it was time for him to leave.

As the Doctor piloted his ship back to the Hub, Jack stood by the railing to the console, watching the other man wistfully, dreading what was to come. When they landed, the Doctor strolled out of the TARDIS with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Before leaving the ship, Jack looked around and whispered, “Thanks for the trip baby.”

The TARDIS whirred and the light blinked happily as Jack exited the sentient ship, giving her blue exterior a loving stroke, earning him a warm hum.

They were back in Jack’s office and the Doctor was gently stroking the little piece of TARDIS coral on his desk. He turned around as Jack threw his coat on the rack by the door, “You shouldn’t have this Jack.”

Jack shrugged and joined him beside the little clump of humming coral, “Don’t worry, it won’t even have enough power for a few thousand years to cause any sort of trouble. And besides, I’ll still be around to keep an eye on it!”

The Doctor nodded, shuffling his feet. He started moving towards his ship again but Jack grabbed his arm, “Thank you, for coming to me. It means a lot that you feel you can trust me, well, enough to come to me drunk and depressed anyway!”

He leaned down and kissed him delicately on his stubbly cheek, “Stop by again soon, you hear?”

A very faint pink glow rose to the Doctor’s cheeks as he smiled awkwardly at Jack, “Yeah, ahem… Thank you for listening.” The Doctor pecked Jack’s lips quickly before trying once again to get to his ship.

Jack grabbed at his hand this time and leaning into another chaste kiss, but he held the Doctor against him for longer this time. He couldn’t just offer that up to him and leave. The Doctor kissed back gently, moving his lips against the immortal man’s until he pulled away, smiling at Jack.

Jack watched his retreating back as he vanished into the TARDIS. He smiled as the box vanished from this office, running his tongue over his lips which still tingled from the Doctor. He ran a hand through his hair and went back to his desk, waiting for Ianto to arrive in a few hours’ time.


End file.
